Declan Donnelly has revealed that he wanted to “punch and hug” Ant McPartlin, following his drink-driving arrest last year.
Speaking in a candid interview with The Guardian’s Weekend magazine, the 43-year-old admitted that the long-time telly partners almost split over the incident.
Recalling the time he found out about Ant’s arrest, Dec said, “It felt like a nightmare, that there’d been a mistake. ‘Of course he didn’t do that.’”
“How could he do that? I wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time – and I didn’t know which one I wanted to do first.”
The next day, Ant told him it was all true.
Dec said, “We had a heart-to-heart. I said, ‘Look, forget everything – TV, the partnership – you’ve just got to go and get well.’ I think I said I’d give everything up if he could just be happy again.”
Speaking about the crash, which saw him crash into two cars, Ant said, “It wasn’t until I’d gone away and rested that it kicked in. I was having sleepless nights. The shame and guilt were horrendous. Whatever state I’m in, drink-driving is an inexcusable act.”
“I’ve constantly relived the incident. I know how serious that could have been and I am doing things on a daily basis to be a better man. I thank God every night that nobody was seriously hurt. I constantly think about it.”
When asked if he contemplated a solo career after the crash, Dec confessed, “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Of course I thought about it.”
“Ant went away, and he had a lot of work to do on himself. He had a lot of thinking to do. Equally, I did. I thought about every eventuality and every permutation.
“Ultimately, the number one thing I wanted to happen was that Ant came back and he was healthy and happy, and we got our relationship back on track and we carried on. That’s the thing that makes me the happiest, working together.”
Check out more of their interview HERE.
